Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

Nightfall in Boston

Hello again from Fenway Park, where the Yankees are on the field for batting practice. This afternoon’s manager session with Joe Girardi turned into a rehash of last night’s decision to pitch to Manny Ramirez with first base open.

Girardi said he didn’t want to second-guess his choice but insisted he made the best decision he could with all of the available information; namely, his pitcher’s own belief that pitching to Kevin Youkilis with the bases loaded would have painted him into a tighter corner than pitching around Ramirez. Of course, since Mike Mussina threw too good of a pitch on the first offering, the point was moot.

“You think about it when you go home a little bit and you
just move forward,” Girardi said. “That’s the great thing about baseball, that you’ve got
another day to worry about. Every day there will be some decisions that you
have to make. You live with it, you move on, and you think about today’s game.”

I should mention that the press conference room at Fenway Park has the same style desks that we had back in college. I keep feeling like I need to ask someone for a No. 2 pencil.

Down in New York, jackhammers were cranking as the Yankees unearthed that illicit David Ortiz jersey. Derek Jeter, for one, was rather nonplussed by the news.

“I never pay much attention to all of those things,” Jeter said. “But for those who think there are jinxes, I’m happy for them.”

Eight men left on base, this game could easily be different if we can get a clutch hit. I like Girardi leaving Hughes in he does need to get experience. It is frustrating to see him struggle especially because we saw Kennedy struggle while Joba excelled. Hopefully everything will come together soon and we can start stringing some wins together.

Yeah, yankees2ss, you’re right about the frustration regarding Hughes getting behind batters. I think that’ll be something that he’ll have to learn. I actually give Girardi some credit for leaving him in there for as long as he did because Hughes really does need experience with those situations.

I did, but like I said it’s cold now he’s probably tight and being a Boston fan since childhood he probably pressed a little this start. He’s going to be streaky this season most likely, but give him time he’ll be an ace soon. Also at the rate Chin-Ming is going (and he’s pretty young) Phil wont have to be that #1 for a while and can have a year like Felix i Hernandez s putting together now that he’s Seattle’s number 2.

Yeah.. I think regret was the wrong word, as is true Santana did get bombed in the NL. I don’t know theres just something about 2 back to back sub-par performances by Hughes that really gets to me. Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve seen him be so Dominant (E.G. His No-Hit bout Vs. Texas before he injured his hamstring). I think the worst part about Hughes performance tonight was simply the fact that he kept getting behind Batters. I don’t know if anyone caught the stat of Hughes ahead of hitters batting ~.187 but when he falls behind batting over .500, these definitely held true tonight.

Yeah, I’d like two things tonight: 1.) Cano actually hit a ball on the screws for the first time this season, and 2.) Arod hit a ball hard that’s NOT at a fielder. He hasn’t been scolding it much lately and when he does it’s right at someone. Maybe just tell him “Hey Arod, just turn your feet a few inches to the right.” Heh, I should be a hitting coach.

I don’t regret not trading for Johan. He’s great now, but Phil should be great later. The Yankees in the win at all cost mentality won 0 championships. I’m sick of being the odds on favorite only to disappoint. Let’s get back to having home grown talent win championships a la 1996. The weather is cold, he’s 21 years old, and he’s got to have a lot of emotions going through him right now after struggling when he’s supposed to be a franchise pitcher. When the weather warms up and he gets more acclimated to pitching against big league hitters I’m confident he’ll do better. Either way we were smart not to trade for Johan because not only would we be out of Phil Hughes but Melky and Ina Kennedy. Thats three young budding players, two potential superstars for one, not worth it any way you slice it.

Well actually, with Santana getting bombed in the national league yesterday, I can’t say I regret it. It’s only been a few games with both pitchers so I wn’t be able to say anything for months. I think the thing someone can “regret” would be an immediate impact. Hughes is only 21, but that means he’ll have some rough growing pains which will definitely hurt us in the immediate future, something that Santana probably wouldn’t have. However, Hughes might anchor a pitching staff for years to come in which case you’d have to be HAPPY with the non-trade. Too tough to call for now.

Honestly, I could never regret not trading for Santana more right now. Not that Santana has done that great this season, but seeing Phil Hughes get beat up, and knocked out in the third inning again really gets to me as a Yankees fan…

One of the differences between the Yankees and their opponents thus far: Arod hits a ball hard, only problem is it’s right at the third baseman, end of inning. Manny hits a bloop that JUST gets over the 2nd basemen’s head, RBI.

Looks like Phil Hughes is struggling with his fastball control. Bad first inning, let’s see if he can get out of it and discuss some mechanics with the coaches in the bottom half . Ohlendorf is warming up soooo… not a very long leash here with Philly. Either way, that fastball is key in racming up those first picth strikes, and he dosn’t have it. The other pitches won’t do much good if the batter doesn’t feel a need to swing. GET SOMETHIN WORKIN PHIL! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!

I think the guy’s a jerk for placing the Ortiz jersey, and articles I’ve read about the incident lead me to believe that he’s a lowlife for reasons in addition to the jersey incident. But I don’t believe it would have any kind of effect on the Yankees’ performance in the new stadium. I really don’t believe jinxes and curses. I like to joke about them, but I don’t believe in them. That being said, I’d like to punch the guy in the nose :)

Girardi shouldn’t be killed for making one mistake, but the decision to pitch to Manny yesterday was indefensible. Aside from the fact that Manny is a sure-fire Hall of Famer with an illustrious history against the Yanks, his mammoth home run two innings earlier nearly left the ballpark. Also, any concern about possibly walking Youkilis with the bases loaded was misplaced: Mussina had great control and hadn’t walked a batter all day.

Girardi should just acknowledge that it was a poor managerial decision and learn from it rather than insist he would make the same decision all over again given the same information.

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